


The Flight Response

by Kioee



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Prompt Fill, boyfriends being supportive, fears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-10 05:46:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1155824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kioee/pseuds/Kioee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one knows Rei is afraid of dogs and Rin is left confused after Rei sprints away after seeing one on a jog</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Flight Response

Fear is a logical response to certain stimuli based on experience and an evolutionary imperative. It’s a perfectly natural response and there’s nothing wrong with being scared. A certain amount of anxiety helps you focus better on your tests or run faster in a race. That’s the flight or fight response and without it, humans would not have survived. Sometimes that fear, though rooted in reason, can get the better of you.

~~

Rei found Rin to be an excellent jogging partner. He was able to focus on the task and sometimes give a fun challenge. It was an added bonus that it had become an unspoken arrangement that their jogs would end up with them on one of their beds making out. He wasn’t sure exactly how it happened but he enjoyed their relationship. Rin could be argumentative and moody, but he was smart and had a great sense of humor.

This particular jog, however, took a turn. Rei spotted it out of the corner of his eye and he felt a skip in his heartbeat, already quickened by the jogging. It came closer and Rei panicked, taking a sharp turn and sprinting down an alleyway. Rin barely had time to register his boyfriend’s sudden change in pace and ran after him, almost tripping over the St. Bernard that had come across their path.

“Rei! Rei, wait!” Rin had lost sight of the other teen. He turned another corner just on instinct and found Rei still running at a straight sprint. Something was definitely wrong and he managed to catch up and grab his arm.

“What the actual fuck are you doing?” 

Rei looked around and realized how far he had gotten. How far he had run from that dog. He looked away, too embarrassed to say anything. “It’s nothing.”

“Bullshit.” Rei knew Rin wouldn’t buy into saying that it was nothing, but if he said what was wrong, he wasn’t sure the other wouldn’t laugh at him.

“It’s just something stupid. Don’t worry about it.” 

But, of course, Rin did worry and said so in his own way. “You don’t just start sprinting like your life is on the line and then brush it off as nothing for me to worry about. Spit it out, because I’m not going to shut up about it otherwise.”

“I don’t like large dogs.”

Rin thought about the St. Bernard that was being walked right by them when Rei sprinted away. “You’re afraid of them.”

Rei just nodded, avoiding Rin’s eyes and expecting him to laugh, but Rin just kept speaking. “Did something happen? I mean you ran like hell. That’s a little more than just being a little nervous, right?”

Rei sighed and slumped against a wall. “I got bit when I was eight.” He shook his head. “It just wouldn’t let go and it was growling and I didn’t even do anything to provoke it.” He swallowed hard, trying not to think about the incident. “I can’t be around big dogs at all. I told you it was stupid.”

“That’s not stupid.” Rin slipped his arms around Rei and kissed his forehead. He let his arms drop and grabbed one of Rei’s hands in his. “Come on. Let’s finish our jog and if any dog tries to bite you, I’ll just have to bite them first.” He smirked and Rei couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t make his fear go away, but having that support and comfort took the edge off.


End file.
